For many iPhone users, losing important photos from their iPhone can be a distressful experience. Such instances usually occur due to multiple reasons, like accidental deletion, storage drive formatting, software bugs, virus attacks, etc. Luckily, there are several methods that you can apply to recover deleted photos on iPhone.

Recovering lost or deleted photos on an iPhone can be a relatively straightforward process if you have any previously created backups. Apple provides several options, such as iCloud backups, iTunes backups, etc. to create backups of important files and to restore them when data loss occurs. Here are some quick methods to help you learn how to recover deleted photos on iPhone.

What Causes Deletion of Photos on iPhone?

As mentioned above, there are several reasons why pictures usually get deleted on an iPhone, both accidental and intentional. It is important to understand the exact causes of photo deletion in order to determine the adequate recovery method to recover deleted photos on iPhone and take preventive measures to avoid data loss. Here are some common reasons why photos may get deleted from an iPhone:

  • Accidental Deletion: One of the most common reasons for photo loss on an iPhone is accidental deletion, i.e., when you delete photos using the "Delete" option while viewing photos.
  • iOS Updates or Restores: Performing iOS updates or restoring your iPhone to factory settings can also cause the deletion of photos if they are not backed up properly before initiating the update or restore process.
  • Software Glitches or Bugs: Software glitches, bugs, or crashes within the iOS or the Photos app can lead to unexpected deletion of photos on your iPhone.
  • Storage Space Issues: If your iPhone doesn't have enough storage space, it can cause issues like automatically deleting older photos or failing to save new photos. Such instances mainly occur if the "Optimize iPhone Storage" feature is turned ON in iCloud Photo Library settings.
  • Malware or Virus Infections: Malicious software or viruses may target your iOS devices and infect or corrupt your iPhone's data, such as photos, causing their sudden deletion.

Quick Methods to Recover Deleted Photos on iPhone

In this part of the blog, we will discuss some commonly used recovery workarounds to learn how to recover deleted photo from iPhone. Just go with these methods one-by-one to restore your lost data:

Method 01: Recover Deleted Photos from Recently Deleted Album

Every deleted photo on iPhone goes to the Recently Deleted folder located in the Photos app. Before you proceed with any other method to recover photo from iPhone, it's important to check the Recently Deleted folder. For this:

  • Launch the Photos app on your iPhone.
  • Now, go to the Albums tab and scroll down to the "Recently Deleted" album.
  • From the "Recently Deleted" folder, locate and select the deleted photos that you need to recover.
  • After selecting the desired photos, click the "Recover" option from the bottom right corner.
  • Confirm the action by selecting "Recover X Photos" (X represents your number of selected pictures) to restore the selected photos back to your iPhone's Photos app.

Method 02: Restore Deleted Photos Using iCloud Backup

If you have habit of creating backup of important photos using backup utilities like iCloud, then you can use it to restore lost photos. Follow the below-given steps to recover deleted photos on iPhone using iCloud backup:

  • Launch Settings > General > Reset, select “Erase all Contents and Settings”.
  • Now, from the dialog box that pops up, select Erase Now.
  • Go through on-screen instructions till you launch the Apps & Data From there, select the Restore from iCloud Backup option.
  • Log in to your iCloud account.
  • Choose the recent backup of photos you need to recover and click the Recover button to save selected photos back on iPhone.

Method 03: Recover Deleted Photos Using iTunes Backup

Another alternative to recover deleted photo from iPhone using backup is via iTunes backup. iTunes backup preserves your iPhone's data, allowing easy restoration of settings, apps, photos, and messages after software updates, resets, or device replacements. All you have to do is:

  • Firstly, connect your iPhone to your PC/Mac with the latest version of iTunes installed.
  • Launch iTunes and select your iPhone when it appears.
  • Now, click the "Restore Backup" button from the "Backups" section.
  • Locate and select the backup that contains the deleted photos and click “Restore”.

Method 04: Use Third-Party iPhone Data Recovery Software

If you fail to recover deleted photos on iPhone using the above-mentioned manual methods, then you can try using a professional iPhone data recovery software. There are several third-party recovery tools available online, but we recommend using the Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone tool. It is an all-in-one data recovery software which supports recovery of pictures deleted due to any reasons, such as accidental deletion, virus attacks, iOS updates, software glitches, etc.

The Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone software can restore your deleted data of any type, including your pictures, videos, documents, and many more and that's too in three simple clicks. You can follow the below-given steps to know how to recover deleted photo from iPhone using the Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone tool:

Step 1: Download the Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone software on your computer and launch it. Connect your iPhone to that computer via USB cable. From the homepage, select the type of data that you need to recover and click Next.

Step 2: Wait till the scanning process is completed. After that, preview the recoverable files and select the photos you need to restore.

Step 3: Click the Save button to save selected photos at the desired location.

Tips to Prevent Future Photo Loss on iPhone

Here are some tips that you can consider to avoid deletion of photos from your iPhone:

  • Regularly back up photos using iCloud or iTunes.
  • Turn ON iCloud Photo Library for automatic syncing.
  • Avoid granting unnecessary permissions to third-party apps.
  • Use reliable apps for photo management and storage.
  • Monitor available storage space on your iPhone.
  • Disable the "Optimize iPhone Storage" option if not required.
  • Be cautious while deleting photos to avoid accidental deletions.

Wrapping Up

Whatever is the cause for photo deletion on your iPhone, you can check the in-built Recently Deleted folder, previously-created backup files, or third-party recovery software like Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone to restore your lost memories. Moreover, you can consider the aforementioned preventive measures to avoid issues like photo deletion on your iPhone and ensure the security and integrity of your valuable memories.